‘Why do you care so much about me?’ He tried to ease the mood.

‘I . . . because I am your analyst and it’s my job!’ she said.

Madhav smiled because he could hear the lack of conviction in her voice. She was trying to convince both him and herself.

‘Okay, Ms Analyst. When is our next session?’

‘Whenever you decide to leave this pathetic job!’ Both of them smiled as they said goodnight.

Madhav felt strangely content; it was the first time he had felt something positive all day.

In the meantime, Radhika knew she had started developing feeling for Madhav. She tried to deny it by telling herself that it was just an interesting case, but somewhere deep in her heart she was growing increasingly attached to him.

That night, her painting was full of shades of orange and red. The warm pulse of love infused her mind and flowed through her limbs, manifesting in her painting. She tried to suppress it, but love cannot be suppressed. It doesn’t let anyone escape its hold. She looked at her painting and felt both weird and wonderful at the same time.

She slept poorly that night. She kept thinking about Madhav. She was worried about his job, his issues, his mind. She got out of bed and wrote down the details of his case from the very beginning. She planned her sessions with him to begin untangling his problems and to help him heal. She knew she had to navigate her feelings very carefully. Being Madhav’s therapist, she couldn’t afford to behave unprofessionally.

But Radhika and Madhav grew closer each day. She would think of him even when she was with other patients, while he’d spend the entire day at work aching to talk to her. The universe had started weaving the silver thread of their beautiful relationship while they had no idea what lay in store for them.

9

31 December 2011

Days passed and nights rolled by. Madhav now grew accustomed to the daily grind of reporting to Vinesh and receiving a ton of work. He decided to finally catch up with Radhika during the weekend. The whole world would be stepping into a new year and Madhav hoped that the two of them would step into a new relationship. He called her early on Saturday morning.

‘Where are we going?’ she asked him.

‘There’s a New Year’s Eve party at Kitty Su,’ he said.

‘Clubs are not my thing,’ she shot back immediately.

‘Then shall we meditate?’

‘Yes. There couldn’t be a better start to the New Year. Sitting with yourself and feeling the fresh morning air in your lungs. Ah!’

‘Okay, how about this? We party at night and meditate in the morning. What do you say?’ Madhav asked, feeling cocky.

‘You are mad, Madhav!’ She chuckled. ‘We will meditate first,’ she said.

‘Can I say no?’